For example, what are the causes of conflicts between Christians and intellectuals? How can such conflicts be managed? I'm writing a report on this stuff and will appreciate your opinions as well as any outside sources you can offer. Thanks.
Excuse me, but I can't help but notice that your details indicate that there can be no "christian intellectual" category. May I suggest to you that you listen to Ravi Zacharias sometime. He is a christian apologist that is engaged to speak in universities around the world, where the brightest of our day grill him with atheistic principles and agnostic foundations. Evolutionists challenge his mind with their "scientific evidence" and fall short under close scientific scrutiny.
Having said all that..(smoothing my ruffled feathers now)….I would say that the basic cause of this conflict to which you refer is very simply a situation where you have 1 person of faith and one who is not such a person. If you can assume for 1 second that the Bible is true, I give you this: the Bible tells us that after we have accepted what Christ has done on the cross as true and real and in our heart of hearts want Him to be our personal Savior and Lord, then we instantly get supernatural help in the form of the Holy Spirit of God. (see blueletterbible.org and type in holy spirit and/or holy ghost and "sealed") It tells us that the Holy Spirit will lead us to the truth in all things. So obviously, without that help, we cannot really "see" these spiritual truths. (see 2Corinthians 2:14) So, the conflict arises from a basis of one that can see and one that thinks he can but cannot, and furthermore does not know that he cannot because his physical eyes are open and he has a mind and therefore assumes that all such things are obvious when his intellect is applied.
How can this be managed? Well, how can you manage a dialogue where 1 has a necessary basis for understanding the subject at hand and 1 is groping for the answers but finding none that give resolution…and in the case of matters of truth, the resolution point is one of PEACE. Not an outer peace but an inner peace that cannot be disturbed by the rising and setting of the sun or by whatever storm of opinion might assault it. You see, truth, by it's very nature, cannot change. It either is truth or it is not. If you say it is day and I say it is night, one of us is wrong. (take any situation…sweet/not sweet, etc., etc.,) I say to you in all sincerity that you cannot bring the two on level ground, except to agree that the two of you disagree.
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Excuse me, but I can't help but notice that your details indicate that there can be no "christian intellectual" category. May I suggest to you that you listen to Ravi Zacharias sometime. He is a christian apologist that is engaged to speak in universities around the world, where the brightest of our day grill him with atheistic principles and agnostic foundations. Evolutionists challenge his mind with their "scientific evidence" and fall short under close scientific scrutiny.
Having said all that..(smoothing my ruffled feathers now)….I would say that the basic cause of this conflict to which you refer is very simply a situation where you have 1 person of faith and one who is not such a person. If you can assume for 1 second that the Bible is true, I give you this: the Bible tells us that after we have accepted what Christ has done on the cross as true and real and in our heart of hearts want Him to be our personal Savior and Lord, then we instantly get supernatural help in the form of the Holy Spirit of God. (see blueletterbible.org and type in holy spirit and/or holy ghost and "sealed") It tells us that the Holy Spirit will lead us to the truth in all things. So obviously, without that help, we cannot really "see" these spiritual truths. (see 2Corinthians 2:14) So, the conflict arises from a basis of one that can see and one that thinks he can but cannot, and furthermore does not know that he cannot because his physical eyes are open and he has a mind and therefore assumes that all such things are obvious when his intellect is applied.
How can this be managed? Well, how can you manage a dialogue where 1 has a necessary basis for understanding the subject at hand and 1 is groping for the answers but finding none that give resolution…and in the case of matters of truth, the resolution point is one of PEACE. Not an outer peace but an inner peace that cannot be disturbed by the rising and setting of the sun or by whatever storm of opinion might assault it. You see, truth, by it's very nature, cannot change. It either is truth or it is not. If you say it is day and I say it is night, one of us is wrong. (take any situation…sweet/not sweet, etc., etc.,) I say to you in all sincerity that you cannot bring the two on level ground, except to agree that the two of you disagree.
References :
I think the root cause of these types of conflicts stem from the differing world views between Christians and intellectuals.
Intellectuals tend to base their perception of reality according to what can be measured and proven… the scientific view.
On the other hand Christians see reality not only by this scientific view but also by another dimension in which some things are intuitively percieved.. ie by faith.
I read a book some time ago by John Stott (Issues facing Christians today) that I think covers some of the questions that you have raised.
Good Luck.
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